Pitch Episode 8 Recap and Review

Last time on Pitch, Ginny and the Padres bared it all in the face of a nude photo scandal, Livan Duarte bought his skills and attitude to San Diego, and we saw Mike’s backstory. This week, we kicked things off with Mike meeting with his agent to discuss if he wants to remain a Padre. With a no trade clause in his contract, he must be the one to decide to leave.

With only seventeen rain outs in forty-six years, Mike jokes that they’ll get rained out before he leaves Padres. Cue the rain and thunder. The tarp makes a rare appearance in the fourth inning versus the Nats and a rain delay begins. Al decides to sit Mike and let Livan start when and if the game continues. This makes Mike’s mood even worse.

Elsewhere in the stadium, Amelia, Eliot, and Evelyn are gathering in the “Family Room” with the families of other players to pass the time. Among the group is Oscar’s new lady. When the pair meet in an empty hallway, he appears nervous to be seen with her. She assures him that “he” doesn’t know. We don’t find out who “he” is until later.

Upstairs, the Padres’ new owner, Charlie, questions Oscar about the grounds’ crew and the status of the Mike situation. Oscar is clearly exasperated with his boss, but does as he says and heads to talk to Mike, who brushes him off. Down the hall, Livan tells Ginny about his girlfriend back home. A staff member interrupts to tell Ginny that her brother has arrived at the stadium.

We transition into a flashback of Ginny’s first start in June. Tucked away in her locker room, Ginny and Will share an encouraging telephone conversation. The scene shifts when Will turns his head and reveals a bandage and bruising around one of his eyes. Back in the present, Ginny quickly greets her brother but has to get back to the locker room. Will is led to the “Family Room”.

Al, Mike Lawson, and Ginny Baker meet at the mound. Photo from FOX.

It turns out that the grounds crew’s manager, Russell, is having none of Charlie’s demands when the owner requests that he gets his crew to outperform the Yankee’s twenty-eight-minute field prep routine. Russell declares that it’s his field and it will be ready when he says it is. In an attempt to defuse the situation, Oscar thanks Russell and hurries Charlie out of the office.

In the “Family room” Evelyn is ecstatic to see Will. Ginny’s agent, Amelia, is not. In another flashback we see that Will was in town in June, but was intercepted by Amelia. When she saw his face and learned that he was in debt, she told him that Ginny couldn’t see him like that and wrote him a twenty thousand dollar check.

In the locker room, Blip tries to convince Mike to give a speech. Declaring that everyone is tired of his speeches, he leaves to go talk to Oscar. It becomes clear during the discussion that the team’s new management wants him gone. Influenced by the meeting, Mike returns to the locker room and holds Kangaroo court where the players are “put on trial” for game errors and clubhouse fails. Things are lighthearted for the most part until Ginny is put on trial for getting thrown out attempting to steal third base three weeks ago. She argues that it’s Mike’s fault for missing a hit and run sign. Ginny asks another player, Omar, for his take since he was on first base at the time of the incident.

Omar sides with Ginny. After yelling that he’s been on the team for fifteen years and his word should mean something, Mike storms out of the room like a seven-year-old. Ginny follows him and he blows up at her and says that he’s tired of everything being about her. Not too long after, she’s called into the “Family Room” where she is put in an awkward situation between her brother, who says she’s in on his idea to open a chain of sports bars, and Amelia, who claims she needs to talk through it before Ginny makes a decision. Ginny tells Will she’s in, but makes him walk her back to the locker room. It is here that she learns about Will’s visit in June. This leads to yet another tense talk with Amelia. It seemed for a moment that Ginny was going to fire her, but she didn’t…at least not yet.

Back in the locker room, Omar confesses to Blip and Mike that he didn’t see the sign, but said so because he has feelings for Ginny. Mike pulls him into a room and tells Omar that he doesn’t have feelings for Ginny because he doesn’t know her. He goes on a tirade, listing all the things he knows about her. Even Blip, her long time friend, seemed surprised by everything Mike knows. Mike himself seemed thrown by everything he’s said.

When Ginny comes back to the locker room the Kangaroo court trial is settled and the rain delay ends. Al runs into Oscar and his “girlfriend” who ends up being Al’s daughter. None to wiser to their relationship, he reminds his daughter about Sunday dinner before heading out to the field.

While everyone gets pumped for the game, Ginny goes to stretch and Mike gives her some tips about the next batter. After leaving the room with a look back at Ginny, Mike watches his teammates head out to the dugout. Oscar approaches him to hear his decision. Mike says one word, “Chicago”.

Favorite Moments from this week’s Pitch

Ginny’s humming – When he explains to Omar that he doesn’t know Ginny, one of the things Mike lists is the fact that she hums horribly while she stretches. It turns out that her off-key humming is Katy Perry.

Blip and his jokes – The outfielder is consistently on Mike’s case and making old man jokes. It balances the drama well.

Next week’s preview! – It seems that not only is Mike leaving the Padres, but viewers may get a very important moment between he and Ginny in next week’s season finale.

Least Favorite Moments

Amelia breathing down Will’s back – I get that she worries for Ginny, but her family issues should be left alone. I know she means well but she could have used a better approach instead of bringing up his debt in front of Evelyn and having Eliot look into his business.

Charlie – The former Silicon Valley tech guy has yet to grow on me. He doesn’t understand the nuances of running a team or dealing with people and is too stubborn to listen to advice from Oscar. Even with a peek at his motivations last night, he’s still irritating.

What were your favorite moments from this week’s episode? Bawson fans, how excited are you for next week’s episode on a scale from 1-10?

Let’s hope Pitch gets renewed for second season. Unfinished stories with potential are the worst! This show does a great job of giving its characters layers and balancing family, relationships, and baseball. With an amazing cast who interacts with fans on social media all the time, Pitch deserves a second season. #RenewPitch

Thanks for reading!

Kira McCall covers television for MFST. You can follow her on Twitter @cocovanilla45 and @kiramira_

https://www.myfantasysportstalk.com/pitch-episode-8-recap-and-review/https://i0.wp.com/www.myfantasysportstalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/pitch-pilot-preview.jpg?fit=620%2C418&ssl=1https://i0.wp.com/www.myfantasysportstalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/pitch-pilot-preview.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=12016-11-19T08:45:16+00:00Kira McCallEntertainmentRecent PostsTV ShowsBawson,Blip Sanders,FOX TV,Ginny Baker,Mike Lawson,Pitch,Pitch on FOX,Renew PitchLast time on Pitch, Ginny and the Padres bared it all in the face of a nude photo scandal, Livan Duarte bought his skills and attitude to San Diego, and we saw Mike's backstory. This week, we kicked things off with Mike meeting with his agent to discuss if he...Kira McCallkemccall44@gmail.comEditorMyFantasySportsTalk